Gordon asked his neighbor if he could borrow a small ladder for ten minutes.
An hour later, the ladder stood beside Gordon’s hedge with paint, tools, and a picnic chair around it.
The neighbor asked what he was fixing.
Gordon said, At the moment, my plan….
He had first wanted to tighten one gutter screw. Then he noticed the fence needed paint. While finding paint, he found a loose shelf in the shed.
The shelf held a box of garden lights, so he placed those beside the ladder too.
His neighbor asked whether he had climbed a single step.
Gordon said he was still deciding the safest order.
He sat in the picnic chair and drew arrows on a piece of cardboard. One arrow pointed to the gutter. Another pointed to the shed. A third pointed back to the house for tea.
By late afternoon, every tool Gordon owned was arranged around the ladder. The ladder had not moved.
His wife came outside and asked why the garden looked like a hardware shop.
Gordon said large jobs required planning.
His neighbor took back the ladder before dark. Gordon did not object.
He folded the cardboard and said the project was complete.
His wife stared at the loose gutter.
Gordon smiled.
The important part is done. It looked serious all afternoon.
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